Flotation of minerals



UNITED STATES PATENT omen.

CLEMENT L. PEBKINSAND RALPH E. SAYR'E, or PITTSBURGH, rENNsYIlvANIA,

- ASSIGNOBS r METALS nEcov nY COMPANY, or NEw YORK, N. ,Y., 4 00320-3RATION 0F MAINE.

FLOTA'lION or MINERALS.

No Drawing.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CLEMENT L. PER- .KINSand RALPH E. SAYRE, citizens of the United States, residing atPittsburgh, Allegheny county, State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in the Flotation of Minerals; and wedo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

.This invention relates to the concentration of minerals, such as sulfidores and the like, by flotation.

The invention is based upon the discovery that the flotation operationcan, in many cases, be improved by the addition to the ore or mineralpulp of terpin hydrate. Ter pin hydrate appears to have little if anyselective action in bringing about the flotation of the mineral, but ithas marked frothing qualities and provides an appropriate ore pulp whichrequires no added selective amount of froth with an ore pulp contain ingasuitable selective or collecting a ent but lacking in frothingqualities, or wit an agent but is lacking in frothing qualities. Theterpin hydrate may thus be used to advantage with flotation agents whichhave marked selective or collecting properties but whicharedevoid of, ordeficient in, frothing qualities.

The terpin hydrate can be incorporated withthe ore or mineral pulp inany suitable manner'which will insure its uniform incorporation anddissemination throughout the ulp. It may thus beincorporated b a oi'e isground, or it can be added after the grinding operation and during-orprior to the flotation operation. The flotation opera tion can becarried out in' any suitable apparatus, such as an ordinary Gallowscell, or 1n apparatus where the air is incorporatedin the-ore pulp bymechanical agitation.

It is of advantage in many cases, as withcertain copper ores, to add tothe ore pul a small amount of alkali, which may be su ficient in amountto give. to the ore pulp" a distinct alkaline reaction. When alkalis areused, it .is desirable to give them an appreciable time of contact withthe orelp'ulpfbefore subjecting the latter to flotati'on. The

Specification of Ietters Patent.

'- of the ore pulpg.

ding to the grinding mill, in which the alkalis can thus be added withadvantage in the grinding mill so that they will be present during thegrinding operation. The alkali may be caustic alkali such as sodiumhydrate, or an alkaline salt, such' assodiumv Patented Mar. 1,.'1 921.Application filed July 13, 1920. Serial No. 395,995.-

one-fifth of a pound per ton' of ore (that is,

calculated on the wei ht of the ore and not larger amounts may, however,be use as we l as even smaller amounts in some cases.

The invention will be further illustrated Example 1: 500 parts by weightof Utah I Copper Qompanys ore was ground in a pebble mill w 1th 250-parts of water, lime equivalent to four pounds per ton of dry ore, andthiocarbamlid equivalent to onefifth ound per ton. The ground pulp wastrans erredtoa Callow rougher cell, diluted and floated after theaddition of about 150 partaof water'to which had been added terpinhydrate. equivalent to one-tenth, pound per ton of dry ore.- Asatisfactory froth was produced at once. Aeration of the pulp wascontinued until the concentration of the obtained. I

Example 2: The treatment was similar to that of Example 1, except thatdiazoaminobenzene equivalent to one-fifth poundper ton of dry ore wasused in place of thethiocarbanilidii With an ore of in the aboveexample, it is of importance to provide a selective or collecting agentto supplement the action of the terpin hydrate, 'which. appears to beessentially that of a fz-('1tl1ing"agent'with but little selective orcollecting properties. \Vhere, however, the ore pulp contains anappropriate selective or collective agent, or inherently requires g theaddition of no such agent but is deficient in frothing qualities, theaddition of terpin hydrate, ina manner similar to that abovedescribed,"imparts the desired irothing qualities, and provides bubblesin suiiicient d of ,Suilicirnt. pcrsistoncy to, overflow into thelaunder oflthe'flotation quantity an the character referred to machinethereby mechanically facilitating the removal of the mineralconcentrate.

It Will be evident that, where selective or collecting agents arerequired, (lifierent agents may be used having the desired selective orcollecting or mineral modifying properties. Certain of these agents,such as thiocarbanilid and diazoaminobenzene, have Very marked selectiveor collecting or mi11- eral-modifyingproperties, but are substan tiallydevoid of frothing qualities. The use of terpin hydrate, according tothe present invention, is therefore of particular Value in connectionwith the use of flotation agents of this character. The presentinvention can, however, be carried out with the use of other flotationagents, which may have both collecting and frothing qualities, but whichare deficient in frothing qualities, and the requisite frothingproperties can be impartof the terpin hydrate, in

ed by the addition a manner similar to that above described.

lVe claim:

1. The method of effecting the concentration of minerals by flotation,which' com prises adding to the mineral pulp a small amount of terpinhydrate, and subjecting the resulting mixtureto a flotation operation;substantially as described.

amas? 2. The method of eflecting the concentration of minerals byflotation, which comprises adding to the mineral pulp a small amount ofa selective or collecting or mineral-modifying agent, deficient infrothing qualities, together with a small amount of terpin hydrate, andsubjecting the resulting mixture to a flotation operation; substantiallydescribed.

3. The method of effecting the concentration of copper sulfid ores byflotation, which comprises adding to the mineral pulp a small amount ofan alkali and a. small amount of terpin hydrate, and subjecting theresulting mixture to a flotation operation; substantially as described.

4. The method of eiiecting the concentration of copper sullid ores byflotation, which comprises adding to the mineral pulp a small amount ofan alkali, a small amount of a flotation agent deficient in frothingproperties, and a small amount of terpin hydrate, and subjecting theresulting mixture to a flotation operation; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We itifiX our signatures.

CLEMENT L. PERKINS. RALPH E. SAYRE;

